Veteran says Sarasota schools didn't give him preference when hiring

Billy Cox Staff Writer @billeecox

Wednesday

Jan 10, 2018 at 8:24 PMJan 11, 2018 at 8:53 AM

District says the retired command sergeant major never completed his application.

SARASOTA — The Florida Department of Veterans Affairs is weighing a complaint alleging that the Sarasota County School District violated the law by failing to interview a military veteran for its recently filled communications manager position.

Steve Valley, who worked as communications director for the Manatee County School District from 2013-15, filed his grievance with the state agency on Tuesday after learning the Sarasota vacancy had been filled by a Washington, D.C.-based public relations consultant.

On a job application he submitted to the Sarasota County School District in November, Valley filled out a veterans preference form, which is designed to give veterans special consideration when applying for government jobs, according to state and federal laws. A U.S. Army reservist who served in Iraq from 2003-05, Valley retired from the Army as a command sergeant major with 29 years of combined active duty and reserve time.

“I figured they’d get to it (interviews and hiring) after the holidays,” said Valley from his home in Fairfax, Virginia. “I was talking with a friend and found out they’d filled the position and I never even got an interview. I checked all my emails to make sure I hadn’t missed one. All I got was the one: ‘Thank you for applying to Sarasota Schools.’”

On Nov. 14, or 13 days before the application deadline, Valley received an email notice — “Thank you for submitting your online application to the Sarasota County School Board” — from the district human resources department. The note directed him to visit the HR website “under Getting Started for steps to completing your application packet,” along with instructions to contact the department by phone “to confirm the status of your application.”

“He did start the application process,” said Roy Sprinkle, the district’s executive director for human resources and labor relations. “But his application is not complete. It had to be completed by the posting deadline, but he was not even looked at to be considered because he didn’t finish it.”

Valley, a defense contractor, said he followed the rules: “As far as I know, I uploaded the required documents and filled them out, and I was waiting for the callback. To me, the (district email) says I successfully completed the application.”

School Superintendent Todd Bowden hired Tracey Beeker, of Be More Consultants, for the communications job in late December. When she reports to work next Monday, this will be her first job in a public school system.

Longtime district communications specialist Scott Ferguson was promoted to communications manager last June following the elimination of communication director Gary Leatherman’s position over the summer. Ferguson announced his decision to retire on Monday.

Following Leatherman’s departure, Bowden hired Candice McElyea’s Sarasota public relations company in September to direct district communications and social media. But within weeks of the hire, a Herald-Tribune investigation revealed that a number of comment threads on articles concerning McElyea’s clients, including Bowden, originated with McElyea’s IP address, but under different names. Bowden terminated her contract the same day.

“They’ve got to do their own investigation,” said Valley, who said he and his wife hope to return to Florida. “I am very inquisitive right now to see what happened. They hired someone from Washington, D.C. — where I’m living — with no district experience. I worked at a nearby district — Manatee County — at the same job. I know I could do a great job in Sarasota.”

Steve Murray, communications director for the Florida Department of Veterans Affairs, confirmed Wednesday that Valley’s complaint had been received.

“We have not yet begun an investigation,” he said. “But both parties will be contacted formally by our agency.

“There are certain leadership positions that are exempt from veterans preference. However, I have no idea if this case falls within that category,” Murray added.

Attorney Ryan Foley, a fellow at University of Miami Health Rights Clinic’s Veterans Rights Project, says employee protections for American veterans date back to the Spanish-American War. Additional legal protections were enacted in 1992 following Operation Desert Storm.

“According to the law,” said Foley, “if you’re a veteran in a pool of equally qualified candidates, you’re supposed to go to the front of the line.”

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